


lonely girls and bright hearts

by stainedglassbirds



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Canon Rewrite, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Gen, more tags will be added, webby and lena switch places
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25906585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stainedglassbirds/pseuds/stainedglassbirds
Summary: Lena was bored living in an empty manor her whole life. But when three new faces appear and Scrooge finally stops moping in his office, things change, and she finds herself on grander adventures than she could have ever dreamed of. And eventually, she meets this cool Webby girl.(A Weblena Swap AU)
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck & Lena, Dewey Duck & Lena (Disney: DuckTales), Huey Duck & Lena (Disney: DuckTales), Louie Duck & Lena (Disney: DuckTales)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 41





	lonely girls and bright hearts

Lena Vanderquack, in all the years she’s lived in the manor, has _never_ seen anyone new.  
  
It’s always just been her grandma, occasionally that one guy Launchpad, and… she supposes Scrooge. It’s not like he ever shows up, though. Sometimes she wonders if he’s finally rotted away in that room he’s stayed in for the past ten years. So of course, she immediately notices when there _is_ someone new. _Three_ new someone’s, suspiciously by themselves.  
  
“I’ll put the marbles back, I swear!” the person wearing a blue shirt cries.  
  
She observes the culprits she made sure to swiftly tie up, the three hanging upside down from the ceiling. The mood is set with only one light shining down, keeping her hidden to the shadows so they can’t see her face and identify her.  
  
“Marbles? Did you three steal anything?” Lena circles them, eyeing them warily. “What are you after, who sent you?”  
  
Her eyes land on the one in green sweating profusely, terror written across their face. They’ll fess up easily. She points her dagger to their neck, glaring sharply. “ _Answer me,_ ” she growls.  
  
“U-Uncle Scrooge!” Green sobs. 

Lena pauses, lowering her dagger. “ _Uncle_ Scrooge? You’re _related_ to that old man?”  
  
Deciding she’s tired of this interrogation shtick, Lena claps her hands, the lights turning on. Even if they’re lying, she knows she could take down the three of them easily. They wouldn’t stand a _chance_.  
  
Blue winces at the light. “Y-yeah, so please don’t hurt us.”  
  
“I don’t trust you,” Lena states, frowning. “If you try anything, you _will_ regret it.” The three of them nod quickly in response.  
  
“Can you let us down now?” Red asks. “I’m starting to feel lightheaded.”  
  
“Huh? Oh, right, sorry.” Lena hastily slices the rope, the three falling to the ground in a heap.  
  
“So, what’s your deal?” she asks as they untangle themselves. They’re all the same height, same face, eye color, practically everything is the same. “Are you like… triplets? Ugh, it’s weird to think ol’ moneybags has nephews.”  
  
“Yep! I’m the _oldest_ ,” Red proclaims.  
  
“By three seconds,” Blue mutters.  
  
“Those seconds are very important. Anyway, I’m Huey, that’s Dewey, and that’s Louie.” Huey points to each of them as he says their respective names.  
  
“Oh, so that’s your thing? You’re all exactly the same, like in those movies?” Lena asks. She can’t really tell.  
  
“Hah! No way! We’re all unique snowflakes.” The triplets chorus, perfectly in sync. “Well, this usually never happens… this is really weird. Okay, stop talking!”  
  
Lena blinks.  
  
“Antidisestablishmentarianism! _Seriously?_ ”  
  
“You guys aren’t being very convincing here,” Lena says.  
  
“Ugh! Whatever!” Dewey groans.  
  
“Okay, is there an evil one?” Lena is becoming less sure in what’s true or not about twins and apparently triplets, but she’s pretty sure there’s always an evil one.  
  
“Louie,” Huey and Dewey say.  
  
Louie shrugs. “Eh.” His gaze turns to Lena as he squints. “What’s _your_ deal? The whole thing with the trap and dagger was excessive,” the person who was crying not just a minute ago over that trap and dagger says.  
  
“I’m Lena, my grandma’s the housekeeper.” She waves a hand dismissively. “Anyways, you guys are seriously that geezer’s nephews? How come I’ve never seen you around before, like, no holiday invites or anything… that old man never lets _anyone_ over, actually.”  
  
“We’ve just lived with Uncle Donald our whole lives,” Louie answers.  
  
“Yeah, we didn’t even know we were related to Scrooge until today!” Dewey exclaims. His expression sours and he crosses his arms. “Then he just stuck us in a room with marbles.”  
  
“Ouch,” Lena remarks. “Not very surprising. He’s a boring, sad, old man. Welcome to the disappointed club.”  
  
Huey fiddles with the map placed over her board— _wait—_ she lunges to him, grabbing his hand and pulling it away. “Don’t touch that!” she nearly yells, just managing to keep her voice a reasonable volume.  
  
Huey gives her a _look._ “Why? What’s behind it?”  
  
“Nothing important!” her voice raises to a squeak. “Just—”  
  
The map rolls open. Lena swivels around, and Dewey sheeplessley smiles at her. _Ohhh, he’s dead._ “Please don’t hurt me,” he says, taking a step back and holding out his hands.  
  
He’s briefly saved from his fate when Huey pipes in. " _Woah._ What is all of this?”  
  
Lena sighs. “It’s just my... research.”  
  
“For _magic?_ " Louie asks, walking up and examining the board with awe.  
  
“Wh— _magic?!_ Oh my gosh!” Dewey bounces in delight, staring at the board. “This is so cool! Can you do any magic?!”  
  
She rubs her arm. “Um. I mean, I can’t do anything, but I know a lot of spells and… I guess I could show you some cool things. But you can’t tell anyone I’m doing this. _Seriously,_ ” she stresses. “Moneybags _hates_ magic. He can’t know about this.”  
  
“Sure. We’re great at keeping secrets,” Louie says in a weirdly flat way that makes it so she can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not. Oh, well, she’s not bothered. He knows not to mess with her.  
  
“Alright, um…” She glances to the vent beside her board, kicking it open. “There. Let’s go!” she announces, crawling in.  
  
“At least it’s not the marble room,” Dewey mumbles.  
  


* * *

  
After a long crawl, they come to an end. Lena kicks down the vent in front of her, diving through and landing gracefully on her feet. “Woo! Nothing like a good vent crawl!" she rests her hands on her hips, grinning.  
  
The sound of Huey and Louie thudding onto the floor behind her makes her wince. “You don’t get out much, do you?” Huey remarks flatly.  
  
Lena scoffs, frowning. “Eh.”  
  
Her gaze rests to the mini gold statue of Scrooge before her, and she turns down the hall in mild disgust. “My grandma’s kinda overbearing,” she explains. “Keeps me stuck in here all the time and never explains why, it kind of… sucks,” she sighs, coming to a stop in the hall. “I can’t wait to leave this stupid mansion, though. I’m gonna do whatever I want! Maybe finally learn what petting a cat feels like.”  
  
“We could bring you to a pet store,” Huey offers, stopping behind her.  
  
A smile tugs at her mouth. “That’d be pretty cool.”  
  
Dewey comes to finally join the group. She wonders if he got stuck in the vents or something. Either way, now that everyone’s here, she looks up to the towering, ominous door standing before the four of them.  
  
“ _Here,_ ” Lena starts, holding out an arm, “is the _Wing of Secrets._ ”  
  
With a slight dramatic flair, she slowly creeks open the door to the dark room. A blooming excitement forms in her, the familiar feeling of being surrounded by one of the things she actually cares about. Different artifacts, statues, objects and weapons scatter the place, and she knows them all by heart. She’s always been interested in magic, and the interest only grew more over time, _especially_ when finding out Scrooge didn’t like it. But outside of spite, she finds that magic is _cool._ She _wants_ to know everything she can about it. Maybe one day do it herself.  
  
They’d be pretty good for pranks, she thinks, or cursing enemies… not that she has any. Maybe Scrooge counts as one. She snorts internally, walking into the room. He deserves to be cursed. Nothing too bad or anything, but, she feels like she’s justified in being mad at him. He needs to be knocked down a peg.  
  
The nerds walk in with her, staring in awe of the first things they find. Louie points to a statue of Scrooge. “Dewey, check it out!”  
  
Dewey barely gives a glance. “Yeah, whatever.”  
  
She shares the sentiment.  
  
Wandering around, she finds Huey staring at a looming, massive dragon statue, a gong held up by its claws. “The Gong of Pixiu,” she explains. “Hit it three times and you’ll probably kill us all, so… don’t do that.”  
  
Huey turns to Louie who’s… sticking green sticky notes on everything? Huh. Okay. “Uh, what are you doing?” he asks, walking up to Louie with Lena trailing behind.  
  
“Callin’ dibs on stuff,” Louie winks, walking off and placing more notes. Huey crosses his arms with a disapproving expression. “ _What?_ Scrooge is, like, he’s like _super_ old!” he exclaims, reaching forward to place a sticky note on—  
  
Lena skids to him, grabbing his arm just in time. “Dude! That’s a Medusa Gauntlet, so unless you wanna end up like that Scrooge statue, be _careful._ ”  
  
Louie pauses, taken aback. He then slowly places the sticky note onto the container of the gauntlet. “I’m gonna call this one a maybe.”  
  
Yeah, they’re gonna die the second she’s not with them.  
  
“This place is _incredible!_ ” Huey says, holding out his arms in amazement.  
  
“It’s fake.”  
  
Lena raises a brow, walking over to Dewey. She and the others halt where Dewey is staring at a large painting, depicting Scrooge sword fighting against a ghost on a boat, and she _thinks_ that’s Donald swinging above on a rope. She doesn’t really pay attention to the family line, it’s weird and confusing, but she vaguely recognizes him. Scrooge’s old sidekick or something.  
  
“Is that Uncle Donald?” Huey asks.  
  
Lena shrugs. “He’s your uncle, not mine. But I guess it is? He helped the old man out a lot ages ago.”  
  
Huey frowns, sharing a glance with Louie and crossing his arms. “Dewey’s right.”  
  
“Totally fake,” Louie agrees.  
  
“Uncle Donald has never done _anything_ cool,” Dewey proclaims, hands on his hips.  
  
Lena frowns. “That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve _read_ about him before. He’s helped make breakthroughs in finding artifacts thought to be lost forever, it’s not _fake._ ”  
  
Dewey crosses his arms. “This has got to be fake. And I bet everything else is too.”  
  
Her beak twists into a scowl. “That’s not _true!_ What about this picture with chupacabra?” she gestures to it forcefully.  
  
“Photoshop,” Huey says flatly.  
  
She inhales, struggling to contain the burning feeling inside her. “Well this _treasure chest?_ ” she pointedly walks to it, opening the lid. It’s _clearly_ made from real wood, worn down by the sea with age old gemstones engraved into it.  
  
Louie shrugs. “Probably bought it at an auction.”  
  
They’re not— they’re not _getting it_ , they’re _wrong._ She _knows_ this is all real. A form emerges from the chest under a sheet. “Well what about this _ghost?_ ” she growls. Then it clicks. _There’s a ghost._ Bubbling panic replaces her anger, and she slowly backs away from it, watching the writhing movement of the sheet.  
  
Dewey grabs the sheet. “You mean this _Halloween_ decoration?” and promptly pulls it off.  
  
The face of the pirate from the painting greets her. “Curse ye, ye scurvy life-lubbers!” he snarls, lunging for them.  
  
Lena lets out a startled scream, frantically dodging and scrambling away. “It’s Captain Peghook! You let him free, you _idiot!_ ” she yells.  
  
Dewey skids to a bucket, pulling a sword from it. “It’s real— It’s really really _real!_ ” He shakes, the sword suddenly flying out of its grip and right into Peghook.  
  
Lena hides behind the stupid Scrooge statue beside Huey. “The Deus Excalibur, it’ll keep fighting until its enemy is dead!”  
  
“But he’s _already_ dead!” Huey stares as it tries to stab Peghook over and over, failing each time. The sword suddenly cuts right above Lena and Huey, the two of them ducking as it hits against the gong.  
  
Lena gasps. “We can’t let anything else hit it!”  
  
“Yep, I’m gonna sit this one out,” Louie says from behind her, backing away from the midst of it and sitting on a saddle. He yelps, falling to the floor as suddenly a headless horse grows from it.  
  
“Okay, this is getting too crazy,” Lena says.  
  
The horse shrieks, spinning around with it’s hooves shaking wildly, hitting the gong with a harsh _bang._ _  
_ _  
_“That’s twice!” Dewey shouts.  
  
“One more time and something terrible will happen!” Lena hisses.  
  
Peghook dives for Dewey, the latter ducking. Louie slides in to join the group, staring in horror. “ _What_ could be worse than _this?!_ ” he screams.  
  
A voice that Lena decides she never wants to hear again suddenly rings out through the room. “What in _dismal downs_ is going on in here?!”  
  
The four of them turn to find Scrooge standing in the doorway, anger creasing his features.  
  
“There it is,” the triplets mumble.  
  
Scrooge stomps to the group with a fierce glare. “ _Why_ aren’t you in your rooms?”  
  
The sword decides to respond to him by swinging by. Dewey yelps, then screams along with the rest of them as it comes by again. Louie grabs Scrooge’s hand and they run to safety behind a giant medallion, the latter two taking a moment longer to get there. Lena makes sure to edge as far away from Scrooge as she can without leaving the safe spot.  
  
Huey peeks around the corner to observe the scene. After a second he turns back to the group with a grin. “We’ve got this. There are four of us and three of them.”  
  
A small bout of confidence raises in Lena.  
  
Huey looks out again. “If _we_ — wait, nevermind, they teamed up.”  
  
And there goes the confidence.  
  
“Ah! Good,” Scrooge smirks, walking out into the open, “that means only one target.”  
  
“No! Get back, you’re old!” Dewey cries. Lena doesn’t feel particularly worried.  
  
“ _Oi!_ Beastie!” Scrooge calls, stopping in front of Peghook— who’s riding the headless horse, jeez— and casually holding his cane. “What’s it gonna take to shuffle you off to the afterlife?” He cocks his head.  
  
“The head of _Scrooge McDuck!_ ” Peghook bellows, a shroud of blue flame _bursting_ around his skull and staining it black.  
  
Scrooge cracks his neck, spinning his cane in the air and pointing it to Peghook, lowering himself into a defensive position. “Would you settle for his hat?”  
  
Peghook roars, moving to attack just as Scrooge throws his hat into his face. Peghook yelps, the blue flame dissipating. Scrooge breaks into a sprint, sliding out under the horse. Peghook turns with a snarl, hurling the sword at him and the sound of a sharp _slice_ rings through the air.  
  
Lena winces, gasping with the rest as the silhouette of Scrooge’s head flies through the air—  
  
—and the stone head plops down into Scrooge’s waiting hand.  
  
“There’s your head,” he smiles smugly, gesturing to it. He lobs it to Peghook who catches it with surprise.  
  
“I should have been more specific!” Peghook cries as he disappears, dropping the head onto the headless horse.  
  
Lena blinks, staring as the horse taps out a sentence in Morse code. “A head. I’m no longer a freak! Thank you!” he says, running out into the hall and off knows where.  
  
There’s a pause.  
  
Then the triplets loudly cheer, running over to Scrooge and blabbering over themselves. Lena calmly follows them, a smile almost beginning to form at just how _excited_ they are when Scrooge goes and ruins everything by slamming his cane onto the ground.  
  
The triplets immediately silence their cheers, gasping.  
  
Lena bristles. Subconsciously she holds an arm out, guarding the triplets away from him. _Why_ does he always have to be like this? They don’t deserve it, and—and these are his _nephews._  
  
“...We can _explain,_ ” Louie starts with a nervous smile, stepping to Scrooge. “We came down to your secret museum to look for you _because…_ we… love you…?” he slowly hugs Scrooge.  
  
Scrooge is unimpressed. “Secret museum? This is the _garage,_ ” he says, holding out a remote and pressing a button. Low and behold, the apparent garage’s door opens.  
  
“The _what?_ ” Huey and Dewey exclaim.  
  
Louie blinks. “Do you mean gar _age_?”  
  
“Garage. It’s a _garage?_ ” Lena mumbles in bewilderment. “Why would there be so many dangerous things in a _garage?_ Like the garden hose of misfortune, or Montezuma’s cursed stack of magazines, or— Oh. Ugh, yeah, it’s a garage.”  
  
Admittedly she feels a little stupid for never noticing it was one, but in her defense she doesn’t think this is what you normally put in a garage. Shouldn’t, like, cars go in here?  
  
“ _Unbelievable,”_ Scrooge’s voice cuts into the room like a knife. He points to them. “I invite you into my home—”  
  
“You locked us in a _room!_ ” Louie glares, pointing right back at him.  
  
“I gave ya marbles!”  
  
“All we wanted was to hang out with you!” Huey pleads.  
  
“ _Well_ , now ya have. And look at the mess it’s got me!”  
  
“I guess _family_ is nothing but trouble,” Dewey crosses his arms, glaring daggers. “ _Right_ Scrooge?”  
  
Lena suddenly feels like she shouldn’t be here. She doesn’t know the history behind what Dewey said, but it hits a nerve. Scrooge looks surprised, then morphs into _anger_. “Everybody _out,_ ” he growls slowly.  
  
“But we’re—” Huey starts.  
  
“ _Out!_ ” Scrooge yells, slamming his cane against the gong.  
  
The group gasps, stepping back. Lena readies herself.  
  
“Oh, what are you gaping at? The curse is only activated if you hit the gong three times and—and—” Scrooge trails off, watching the stone begin to crumble off the statue with wide eyes, “you already hit it two times, didn’t you?”  
  
 _Yes, we did, you idiot._  
  
The stone begins to shake violently, golden cracks splitting into it. Scrooge backs away fearfully, and not even a second passes before it _shatters_. A golden dragon, _Pixiu,_ is left in its place, immediately breaking through the ceiling and _screeching._ _  
_ _  
_“Pixiu, the gold-hunting dragon.” Lena says absently, staring in shock. Of course. Why not have another thing go wrong, just add it as a cherry on top of the horrible things that keep happening sundae.  
  
“ _Gold_ hunting? Sounds great!” Louie says. The urge to strangle him briefly comes to Lena.  
  
“ _Not_ when you’re Duckburg’s single largest owner of _gold!_ ” Huey exclaims.  
  
Pixiu intently sniffs, eyeing the money bin.  
  
Scrooge yelps. “My money bin!” he frantically climbs up the wooden boxes to follow after the dragon, grabbing onto the end of it’s tail and calling out, " _T_ _o your rooms!_ ” before he’s swept away.  
  
Everyone holds their breath for a pause, unsure of what to do, but it’s clearly decided they’re not going to their rooms.  
  
...Too many things have been happening today, Lena decides.  
  
And then she realizes this is her chance.  
  
This is her _chance_ to _do something_ for once in her life. To have an adventure, to do something big and exciting, to finally leave the manor that’s been weighing on her for her entire _life._ Maybe it’s selfish she’s not doing this for Scrooge, but _she_ needs this.  
  
She steps into the light casting from the setting sun, steeling herself for something she’s only dreamed of.  
  
“Where are _you_ going?” Huey questions.  
  
Lena turns back to the triplets, smiling fiercely. “I’m gonna go pet a cat.”  
  
The three share a look, smiling. “We’re in,” Dewey says.

“Cool.”  
  
She really only barely knows the triplets, but she thinks she’d like to get to know them more. Or maybe that’s just because she has no friends so her taste is just that bad, but they’re… they’re good. They’ve given her something she’s never had before.  
  
“...Just to make sure you know, but, I’m gonna go get the dragon. I’m not actually petting a cat,” Lena clarifies.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, no, we get it. We get it. But how are we gonna get up there?” Dewey asks, gesturing as he talks.  
  
Launchpad suddenly peeks into the room. “I’m a pilot.”  
  


* * *

  
They find Scrooge falling in the air.  
  
Dewey manages to grab his hand just in time, kept steady by the rest of them holding onto his hand and each other’s. They drag him into the plane, the door shutting once Scrooge lands with an _oof._ _  
__  
_“Woohoo!” Huey cheers, pumping his fists.  
  
“I thought I told you to go to your room,” Scrooge wheezes, barely managing to get out the last word.  
  
Dewey helps him up. “No time! We gotta work fast.”  
  
“Lena! How do we stop it?” Huey asks.  
  
She blinks, momentarily surprised she’s being asked at all. Well, of course she is, she knows about this stuff way better than these nerds, but… it’s weird. “It’s mystical, so we need something mystical to beat it,” Lena answers, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thinks. What could be used… “Like an Oblivion Mirror, or a Medusa Gauntlet, or—”  
  
“Like this?” Louie holds out the Medusa Gauntlet.  
  
Lena growls. What did she just _tell him_ earlier, don’t touch the stupid gauntlet!  
  
“What? I was gonna give it back,” Louie casually hands it over to a disconcerted looking Scrooge. At least the child isn’t holding it anymore. He looks out the window of the plane, watching Pixiu tear into the roof of the money bin. “Now _how_ do we get him down there?”  
  
“Garden hose of _misfortune_!” Huey yells, holding it up.  
  
Sure, why not.  
  
Dewey and Louie make quick work of tying the hose around Scrooge. Lena opts to stand nearby and keep watch instead.  
  
Huey climbs the ladder to Launchpad. “Launchpad!” he gestures as he talks. “We need to _swing_ him out! Nosedive towards the bin and get ready to pull up!”  
  
“Yes, sir, random kid I just met!”  
  
Once ready the five of them stand by the door of the plane, it opening up with a whir. “Any questions?” Dewey asks.  
  
“Since when is Launchpad a pilot?” Scrooge hisses, his confusion tangible.  
  
No one answers.  
  
She and the triplets hold tightly onto the hose as they lower Scrooge out of the plane for him to have enough reach. Sharply, Launchpad dives the plane to Pixiu, then abruptly pulls up just as Scrooge catches Pixiu’s tail end— literally.  
  
“You guys, our family is _awesome._ ” Dewey grins from in front of her. She wonders briefly if she’s included in the _family_ part of that sentence.  
  
The gauntlet glows bright blue as Pixiu’s scales are turned to stone. Pixiu jerks around wildly in surprise, flinging its tail harshly and _catapulting_ Scrooge into the air and _loose from the hose._  
  
“ _S_ _crooge!_ ” they scream, Dewey flailing in a desperate attempt to catch the hose that just slips out of his grasp.  
  
Scrooge _falls._ _  
__  
_A cold feeling floods Lena, her heart dropping. She doesn’t like Scrooge, but that doesn’t mean she wants him _dead._ She can’t tear her eyes away as he falls into the bin, disappearing into the mass of gold. A terrified gasp leaves her mouth and for the briefest, most awful second in her life,  
  
nothing happens.  
  
And then he _shoots_ out of the gold, spitting out coins and smiling wildly as he holds out his arms to show that he’s _alive._  
  
Lena slumps, sighing in relief. She lets the cheers of the triplets wash out her previous trepidation. “He swims in money! I _knew it!_ ” Louie yells gleefully, Scrooge swimming in the money below.  
  
“Aw,” Launchpad says from above. “Family truly is the greatest adventure of— _oh no the ground!_ ”  
  


* * *

  
“In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve _wrecked_ my home—”  
  
Lena decides to tune out Scrooge there.  
  
She crosses her arms, instead observing the wreckage around them left from the plane crashing. Surprisingly, they all survived it. Fire flicks around in small patches with Launchpad dutifully hosing them down.  
  
She doesn’t miss the way the triplets curl in on themselves in shame, and feels that frustration she always does whenever Scrooge is around and _messing things up._ Can’t he just lay off for a second? _  
__  
_“— _and_ almost got me killed. Twice!” Lena hears Scrooge stress, catching the end of his rant.  
  
“Four times if you count each individual monster as a time…” Huey interjects, trailing off when Scrooge towers over them, blocking the sunlight and casting a looming shadow.  
  
His stern, near angry frown shifts, and then he’s... _laughing?_ _  
__  
_Lena has never felt more confused in her life. The triplets seem to share her confusion as they share uncertain glances, then quickly shift to leave room for Scrooge to sit down when he suddenly plops onto the broken piece of plane the four of them are sitting on.  
  
“That was _incredible!_ ” he finally says once his laughter subsides, idly petting Lena’s head for a moment. She glares at him, but he doesn’t seem to notice.  
  
“When _you_ pulled me into the airplane and said, _no time!_ ” Scrooge points to Dewey, the latter raising himself proudly. He turns to Lena. “ _Oh,_ and who would have thought of a _Medusa Gauntlet?_ Brilliant!” _  
_  
She blinks, hunching her shoulders. He’s… praising her? _What?_ After— after _years_ of not talking to her, and suddenly he’s acting all buddy-buddy?  
  
He’s still talking. She realizes she’s missed some of what he’s said, and quickly pulls herself out of her shock.  
  
Scrooge pulls himself up, facing the group and pointing to them. “You kids are _nothing_ but trouble!” he proclaims with a grin. “Curse me kilts, have I _missed_ trouble…” he says wistfully, turning his back and staring at the distant buildings across the water.  
  
“...I _suppose_ I’ll have to keep an eye on you,” he starts, looking back to the group with a smile that almost seems mischievous, slowly pulling out his golden phone, “To teach ya how to get into trouble properly.”  
  
“You mean—?” Dewey gasps.  
  
“Beakley!” Scrooge says into the phone. “Clear my schedule! I’m taking the wee ones on a _field trip._ ”  
  
Huey cheers, jumping up and down. Dewey pumps a fist with a grin as he moves into an action-ready pose, and Louie’s eyes are actually wide and alert as a smile melds onto his face. Lena... doesn’t know what to feel.  
  
She’s excited. She’s _confused._ Everything has changed so much in one day, and she’s been given so many opportunities to do the one thing she’s dreamed of most, to _leave,_ to do what she _wants._ Suddenly there’s these three dorks that she actually feels fond for, suddenly Scrooge is excited and active, suddenly…  
  
She curls in on herself uncomfortably, mouth torn between a smile or scowl. She gets to go out on a grand adventure, after years of sitting in the manor, but it’s with _Scrooge._ It’s also with three new people that, maybe, she could consider as her friends. Pettiness later, she decides. She’s not going to ruin this for them when they’re all clearly so excited, especially when… they’ve never even met Scrooge until now. They deserve this. _  
__  
_“Now,” Scrooge says with determined eyes, “let’s go find the _lost city_ of _Atlantis!_ ”  
  
“ _Yeah!"_ The triplets cheer.  
  
“And no one tell your _Uncle Donald!_ ”  
  
“ _YEAH!"_ they shout, pumping their fists, and Lena, for the first time in her life— not that she’s had many opportunities— let’s herself get swept up in the joy.  
  


* * *

  
Lena and Louie get stuck on pump duty when the submarine is suddenly flooded with a layer of water across the floor.  
  
Dewey swiftly slides down the ladder and into the sub. “Woohoo!” he cries, unbothered by the water as he dashes through the room. Lena glares after him. He really just doesn’t notice when he’s caused a disaster, does he?  
  
Scrooge slides down too, though with a flat expression and a lot less excitement. He pulls up his hat to let the water inside pour out. “Talk to your Uncle,” he grumbles to Louie, tossing over a phone and trudging away.  
  
Louie catches it, smiling. “Hey Uncle Donald. Nope, yeah, pretty boring. We napped, rubbed ointment on our joints, old people stuff—”  
  
“Wh— but what about the dragon? The near death?” Lena cuts in. “You didn’t do _any_ of those things—”  
  
Louie quickly pushes Lena’s head away, frantically going back to the phone. “Whoops, three PM, time for dinner, bye!” And ends the call, shoving the phone into his hoodie.  
  
Lena squints. “Why did you _lie_ _?_ What, would he freak out or something?”  
  
He turns back to the pump, lazily doing his part. “Definitely. Besides, you didn’t tell your grandma you were going to a dangerous underwater city, did you?”  
  
She shrugs. “I didn’t really tell her… anything.” Really, it just slipped her mind, but she thinks even if she had remembered before it was too late she still wouldn’t have done it. With how protective she is there’s _no_ chance Grandma would have let her go.  
  
She’s starting to see Louie’s point.  
  
“Lena! That’s _irresponsible,_ she’ll be worried _sick._ ” Louie reprimands.He hands her the phone from across the pump, and she grabs it, frowning at him. “Call your grandma _this instant,_ and tell her that you are spending the night at a _friend’s_ house, okay?”  
  
Wait, what?  
  
“Lying,” Louie smiles, raising a fist to his chest. “It’s the responsible thing to do.”  
  
She stares at the phone. “...I don’t _have_ any friends.”  
  
“Oh. Huh, right, you’ve got your entire… thing going on,” Louie agrees, looking thoughtful. “Eh, we can pull it off.”  
  
“Can’t I just keep not saying anything?”  
  
“Do you _want_ her to think you’ve been kidnapped?” Louie counters.  
  
Lena groans. “ _Ugh_. No, I don’t. I’ll… do it later. Not right now. She can wait a few minutes, or ten,” she decides, pocketing the phone. Louie frowns at her, but doesn’t say anything as they continue to pump the water out.  
  


* * *

  
After a giant octopus, then vicious mermaids, and _then_ a storm god, Lena decides she’s not about this life and conks out on one of the seats.  
  
It’s however many hours when she’s rudely awakened.  
  
Scrooge’s voice comes to her attention in her bleariness, but she doesn’t process any of the words being said. Instead she’s more focused on the fact it seems at some point the triplets joined her, Louie laying on her right side with Dewey halfway over her and Huey beside him. They jolt awake, mumbling to themselves. Lena unceremoniously shoves Dewey’s legs off her.  
  
“Are we there yet…?” Louie asks sleepily.  
  
“Well, I-I was just about to—”  
  
Huey perks up in excitement, considerably more awake now. “Right side, or the left side?”  
  
“ _If you’d just let me—"_ _  
__  
_The four of them scramble over each other in their haste to see their destination, piling over to the right window and staring into the vast expanse of the ocean. “Look! There that thing is! We _found it!_ ” Dewey cheers, throwing up a fist.  
  
The lost city of Atlantis stands before them, intricate buildings and pathways in every space, a tower of stairs leading down into the peak of the city. Weirdly, it seems the city is upside down.  
  
“ _Woahhh…_ ” They mumble in awe.  
  
“Yes! Good. Atlantis. _Ohhh, Ahhh,_ thanks for spoilin’ the moment,” Scrooge grumbles. Lena isn’t sure what his deal is, but elects to ignore him.  
  
“The whole place is upside down!” Huey remarks as they grow closer, giving them a more in-depth look of the city.  
  
“Huh, well that’s a new one,” Scrooge says in bemusement.  
  
They find a good spot inside to station the sub. Surprisingly, the inside of the city isn’t drowned in water. Lena feels like that’s not how this should work, but she’s not complaining if it’s going to let them explore the place without having to swim around everywhere. Not that she doesn’t know how to swim— Grandma would _never_ accept her knowing anything less— she just thinks it’s easier.  
  
As expected from the place being upside down, stone structures jut out from the ceiling, some having fallen into the water. The most noticeable one is a giant statue of a duck head, likely being for someone important.  
  
She doesn’t get a moment longer to muse on it before Louie pulls her off to the side. He gestures impatiently to her pocket. Lena grimaces. She looks back to the others. They’re too caught up in their wonder to notice the two of them, so she pulls out the phone.  
  
Forty-seven missed calls from Grandma.  
  
Yikes.  
  
Does she _really_ have to say anything? She’s going to feel guilty this entire trip if she doesn’t, but, like, maybe it’s for the best. Grandma might be angry, or worse, and it’s okay if she doesn’t wanna deal with that, right?  
  
Lena stares at the phone like it’ll somehow answer her questions. It doesn’t.  
  
“Just call your grandma already, it’s no big deal!” Louie whispers harshly. Without any warning like a _jerk_ he presses the call button.  
  
Lena yelps, fumbling with the phone. She shoots a panicked look to him. He doesn’t seem bothered, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Remember, you’re at a friends house, okay?” Louie says, pulling back and holding his hands into fists. “You _got_ this.”  
  
It doesn’t make her feel much better. She turns to the phone, inhaling deeply as the ringing of the call ends, signifying her grandma picked up. “Hey Grandma,” she says, struggling to keep her tone steady.  
  
“Lena? Where _are_ you?” Grandma’s voice comes through the phone, small but clear.  
  
“Oh, y’know, um. Just at a... _friends_ house. A friend. That I just made today.” Lena waves a hand. She winces internally at how her voice keeps going higher than intended.  
  
“A friend’s house?”  
  
“Yep.” Lena pops the p. “They’re absolutely real and I’m having a great time with this, _friend._ Anyways can’t talk now we have to do _friend activities,_ goodbye!” She quickly says, ending the call before her grandma can reply.  
  
She smiles nervously, turning to Louie. He stares at her in befuddlement, shaking his head. “Oh, you _don’t_ got this.”  
  


* * *

  
Dewey does end up setting off a trap, despite the fact all the traps were nearly unreachable due to the fact everything is upside down. She could almost be proud of how he manages to get himself into these situations if it weren’t for the fact she was being dragged into them.  
  
A giant pile of snakes falls from the ceiling. Lena yelps, running out of the room with everyone else, climbing over a boulder to get there. She does not appreciate the inconvenient placement of it. Gasping, she rests against the boulder, catching her breath. It was just snakes. Everything’s _fine—_ _  
__  
_The phone rings. It’s on the floor. Did it fall out of her pocket? Whatever, she needs to answer or _something_ because if she doesn’t her grandma will think she died. She near-lunges to the phone, swiftly picking it up and answering. “Hi, Grandma, still at a friend’s house,” she says, hoping she doesn’t sound too out of breath.  
  
Louie frowns at her. The silent criticism isn’t helping.  
  
“Hmmm, really?” Grandma asks. Lena can’t tell if it’s skeptical or not. She hopes it’s not. Maybe this is actually working? “What’s her name?”  
  
“Oh, her name…? Y’know, it’s, um… Atlanti...son. Atlantison. Foreign name, not very common, y’know how it is, talk to you later?” She ends the call, looking to Louie. Her hands feel clammy.  
  
Louie smiles hesitantly, shrugging. “Ehhh… good try.”  
  
“She’s probably not buying this,” Lena groans.  
  
“It’s not… _that_ bad.” Louie drawls, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
  
The two of them jolt when Launchpad suddenly collapses onto the ground, knocking Huey over with him. She only just notices the snakes crowded on him. Ah, venom. He seems… okay? He’ll be fine.  
  
Happy to keep her mind away from the awful phone calls, she helps Huey up while Louie goes over to Launchpad to keep him supported.  
  


* * *

  
Just as they enter the next room with Launchpad being carried by Lena, Huey, _and_ Louie, the bridge that’s supposed to let them cross to the other side suddenly falls when a burst of huge flames tears through the end of it.  
  
Apparently life hates her.  
  
Scrooge and Dewey stand on the other side of the now gaping chasm, Scrooge yelling at Dewey about _something._ She can’t hear it from here. After he’s done, he turns to the four of them, cupping his beak. “You four find another way around! We’re going to—”  
  
He stops, blinking as he notices Dewey climbing down the wall. “...Push onward. Apparently,” and he follows after.  
  
Hm. Great.  
  
She looks down at what’s left of the bridge, now turned into something suitable for a ladder. “How are we gonna get Launchpad down?” she asks, mentally trying to calculate if it’d even be possible. “Can he do it himself?”

“He might fall…” Huey hums. “We wouldn’t be able to carry him down the ladder, though, so we’re gonna have to let him climb himself.”  
  
“What if he falls? On _us?_ We should make him go first,” Louie suggests.  
  
Lena gently sets Launchpad down. “No, we need to be below him in case he falls so we can catch him.”

“Uh, I dunno if you’ve noticed, but he’s _really big._ I am _small,_ with _noodle arms._ ”  
  
“Okay, so _I_ can catch him,” Lena corrects. “And _yes_ I could do it. We still tie whenever we arm wrestle. Now get going and stop arguing with me,” she hisses.  
  
Huey seems to have already been doing that before she told them to, dutifully climbing down the ladder. Louie groans, rolling his eyes as he follows after. “Don’t look down,” he mumbles, and Lena thinks it’s more to himself than to any of them.  
  
“Launchpad, we’re climbing down the ladder,” she tells him. He makes a confused noise, but seems more alert as he stands up, only swaying slightly. Good enough.  
  
She feels more confident once she starts climbing down and he follows her lead, having no trouble at all with it. It’s easy to let herself get lost in the rhythm of each step she moves down, until eventually they near the floor.  
  
“Junior Woodchuck Rule 841: There's _always_ another way around,” Huey says, hopping down the rest of the way, Louie in tow.  
  
Lena’s about to hop down herself when the phone suddenly rings. She pauses, then swiftly jumps down, ignoring Louie’s cries of _no, no, no,_ and answering the call.  
  
“Oh, hey, Grandma! Bad time to talk, kinda busy right now.”  
  
“Busy doing what?”  
  
Lena looks to Louie. He does a series of frantic gestures she doesn’t understand. “Uhhh… ummm… Uncle _Alfonso_ is here! And he _only_ speaks Spanish, actually, so he’s giving us a little lesson. Don’t wanna be rude by taking up his time, so… bye?”  
  
“Annnd you’re done,” Louie says, moving his hands with his words. “Yeah, you’re never gonna be able to back up that lie, that was _crazy,_ ” he laughs.  
  
Launchpad suddenly falls from the ladder in a heap in front of them. Lena winces. He quickly gets back up, suddenly grabbing the phone too. “Hey—” Lena starts.  
  
“¡Oh, oye, Beakley!” Launchpad calls, making her pause. “Atlantison…” he quickly says something in what she recognizes as Spanish. Louie’s mouth hangs open in shock. She takes the phone back when he’s done, ending the call.  
  
Laughter cuts into the room, and they turn to see… is that Glomgold? _Glomgold_ and a bunch of other people she doesn’t know, each holding a weapon while Glomgold triumphantly holds a bright red jewel.  
  
Jewel… laughter… entering from the next room… and Scrooge and Dewey aren’t with them. Oh. That’s not a good sign.  
  
“Take ‘em down,” Glomgold orders, the three with him charging in and brandishing their weapons.  
  


* * *

  
They take them down easily.  
  
Lena swiftly dodges the slice of the bird’s sword, flipping out of the way and jumping onto her back when she attempts another lunge, her sword flying out of her grip. She grabs the bird’s hair, pulling as _hard_ as she can until the bird falls over.  
  
The wolf is sent over to her by Launchpad, and with a well placed kick she knocks him down across the room, doing the same with the bird and back flipping over to the group. Dewey and Scrooge seem to have joined them in the point she was beating up their attackers, thank god, and… Donald is also there?  
  
Dewey’s holding a bright blue gem, smiling brightly in a satisfied way. She assumes that’s the actual treasure, though she wonders what was up with the red one Glomgold had.  
  
Speaking of him… “Wait. Where’s Glomgold?” Scrooge asks, eyeing the people in the room.  
  
A beep sounds out through the room, Glomgold’s voice tinny as he speaks. The wolf holds up a walkie-talkie, showing where it’s coming from. “Hey, team. Wanted to thank you for keeping Scrooge's kin busy while I escape with the jewel and blow up Atlantis with my most hated rival inside,” he drawls.  
  
The wolf looks devastated. “But I thought employees were greatest treasure of all?”  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous! Treasure is the greatest treasure of all, that's why it's called treasure! Glomgold out!”  
  
Jeez, what a jerk.  
  
“We have to go!” Scrooge orders, wasting no time to dash back to the submarine.  
  
By the time they get back to it, the ceiling is rumbling, pieces of stone cracking and falling. She makes sure the triplets get in safely before half jumping, half sliding down the ladder and into the sub.  
  
She’s a little surprised when their former attackers come to join them, but she doesn’t ask. They _did_ try to kill her, but she doesn’t exactly feel comfortable with leaving them behind to get blown up. It seems the others are a little apprehensive too, though, because they all form a pile, keeping them under the group in case they try anything.  
  
Though maybe the pile is more for emotional support? Or to hold onto each other for the possibility of the sub crashing? She’s not sure. It seems like Launchpad is really focusing, though, because the submarine swerves around but nothing hits it.  
  
She looks over to Louie who’s on the top of the pile with her, and shoots him a smile. The whole lying thing probably failed, but she still appreciates his help.  
  


* * *

  
Lena hops out of the submarine and onto the boardwalk with Louie and Launchpad in tow, after Glomgold is taken away by a giant octopus or something. Karma, she thinks, watching as he’s pulled underwater.   
  
“Lena. Uncle Alfonso.”  
  
Lena jolts, swiftly turning to see her grandma, a stern expression on her face with her hands rested on her hips. ...Ah. She’s definitely busted.  
  
“How long?” Louie asks.  
  
Grandma squints, raising a brow. “The whole time.”  
  
Lena inhales, walking to her grandma and holding herself straight. She knows she could never be intimidating to her grandma, but she wants her to know she’s _serious._ “Grandma, I’m _not_ going to stay stuck in the manor anymore, and you can’t _make me._ This has been the best day of my life, I actually have _real_ friends now, and I don’t want things to go back to how they were.”  
  
She loves her grandma. But she’s ready to run away and never look back if she’s just going to be put back in the manor with echoing halls and no one in sight. She is _never_ going to give up the outside world, not after this, not after seeing how amazing it is.  
  
Her grandma’s expression softens, and she kneels down, resting a hand on Lena’s head. “Dear, you are safer in a sunken city with Scrooge McDuck than you are locked in a vault in Fort Knox. No more lies…” she smiles, and Lena almost can’t believe what she’s hearing, “...and you can go with him wherever you like.”  
  
Grandma pulls her into a hug, fierce and warm and _safe._ Lena returns it, willing herself not to shake from relief.  
  
An explosion makes her jump.  
  
She pulls out of her grandma’s hug just enough to see what happened, and finds… Donald’s houseboat in the distance. On fire. And the others are glaring at Dewey.  
  
How have they survived for this long?  
  
“Oooh… I may have left the engine running in the houseboat,” Dewey confesses, nervous smile turning into guilt. Huey matches the expression, though more worried than guilty, and Louie facepalms.  
  
Scrooge fiddles with his hands, before holding them out. “I… may have a dozen or so spare rooms in the mansion,” he offers with a smile.  
  
They’re… moving in?  
  
The family's eyes widen, and the triplets look to Donald. He gives a confirming smile, a chuckle escaping his beak.  
  
 _They’re moving in._ _  
__  
_A wild, bright grin bursts onto her face as the triplets break out into shouting and cheering. She sprints over to them, joining as they run around the boardwalk and around each other in their excitement.  
  
The three move into their own dances, and she makes up her own on the spot, because she doesn’t need to be perfect or follow a set line of rules here, they’re just _celebrating._ _  
__  
_She didn’t expect herself to grow as attached as she did. She didn’t expect _any_ of this to happen. But, as she twirls and sways around to a beat that isn’t there without a care in the world, surrounded by people she can call her friends, she really wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> 1: only webby and lena are swapped! this is also specifically a role swap, not a personality swap
> 
> 2: heres their designs: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/654047193350799361/725922188858753065/weblena_swap_ref.png


End file.
